27/05/2017 - The Hardware Societe

Location: 120 Hardware St, Melbourne VIC 3000

We finally got the chance to try this infamous brunch place at Melbourne CBD which is always full of people early in the morning. We got there at about 1030 am and queued for about 30 minutes before we were ushered to our seat. It was a long wait out front but the food was pretty worth it! 

We ordered the following.

1) Soy Latte and Skinny Cappuccino (Our usual coffees to start)
2) Salmon Scrambled Eggs (Salmon was cold though, but it was still quite good.)
3) Salmon Millefeuille (Confit Salmon. I have no idea how to pronouce this!)

Looks really ATAS (Sophisticated!)

They are really busy during brunch times! I hope they are paid well! 

Skinny Cappuccino with nice latte art. I am jealous. 

and yes it has avocado and 2 eggs as well!

Especially loved the hidden salmon pearls in this one to give a good punch of flavor!

Damage: ~60 AUD. Do remember to go early for this to avoid being in the queue for a long time. If you are going alone, you might end up staring at the wall. But trust me, the food is very filling and you don't really need lunch after having this brunch!

11/05/2017 - Longrain

Location: 44 Little Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000

We wanted to try this place in the Melbourne CBD as it had the entertainment book offer (25% off total bill with value up to 45 AUD). 

I was greeted with 2 groups in front of me even when I reached there at 5:40pm. The group behind me kept on getting bigger and bigger, so I reckon that this place should not be too shabby at all. The huge wooden entrance door opened at 6pm and we were seated pretty promptly. 

We ordered the following.

1) Caramelized pork, prawn, peanuts& sour pineapple (Starter)
2) Stir fried diamond clams, wild ginger, chilli & curry leaf
3) Coconut poached chicken , green papaya and Vietnamese mine

See pictures & reviews below: 

Picture of restaurant inside. (It really is quite dark inside)

This is the pathetically small starter which honestly isn't really worth 6 AUD ...

This chicken however is awesomely good. The coconut is very subtle and its a very well balanced dish. I love this one the most!

A tad too spicy for me but it was enjoyable having some clams since I have not had any for a while now.

Damage: 61 AUD. Do remember to go if you have an entertainment book voucher! The original cost of the meal was 81 AUD which in my opinion, isn't really worth the money...

06/05/2017 - Old Kingdom

Location: 197 Smith St, Fitzroy Melbourne, Victoria 3065

We had a craving for duck so we decided to pay this old crowded place a visit. We were smart to make a booking via telephone before we went there as there was a huge crowd waiting even at 8 pm at night. 

We were seated quickly and ordered the duck banquet which had some awesome sliced duck with pancake, stirred fried duck with bean sprouts and my favorite duck soup with bean curd. See the awesome pictures below!

Nicely sliced duck pieces. Only gripe was not enough spring onion and cucumber. After a while, we got sick of eating this.

Stir fried duck with bean sprouts. A tad too salty but still a pretty good savory dish.

Duck meat with soup which cleans out the palate after those 2 meals above.

Damage: 58 AUD. Do remember to make a booking before coming to the restaurant. It can get quite crowded at peak dinner times.

On a side note, we finished the meal with famous Messina ice cream just down the road (237 Smith St, Fitzroy VIC 3065). It was a great finish with something sweet! The pistachio ice cream! 

Can't go wrong with Gelato Messina Ice cream! Sweet but delish!